Locomotive-stoker



N. M. LOWER.

LOCOMOTIVE STOKER, APPLICATION FILED AUG- I. 1918. RENEWED AUG- 6. 1920.

1,371,498, Pa ented Mar. 15,1921.

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LOCOMOTIVE STOKER. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1, 191a; RENEWED we. as, 1920.

Patented Mar. 15; 1921.

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Patenwd Mar. 15, 1921.

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vN. My LOWER.

LOCOMOTIVE STOKER. APPLICATION FILED AUG- 1, 1918. RENEWED AUG. 6, 1920.

1,371,498; Patented Mar. 15, 1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NATHAN M. LOWER, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TO LOCOMOTIVESTOKER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

Locoxorivn-s'roxnn.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented iWIar. 15, 1921.

Application filed August 1, 1918, Serial No. 247,761. Renewed August 6,1920. Serial No. 401,825.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, NATHAN M. LOWER, acitizen of the United States, and resident of Pittsburgh, county ofAllegheny, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Locomotive-Stokers, of which the following is aspecification, and which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings,forming a part thereof. 7

The invention relates to improvements in locomotive stokers of the typeshown in my pending application Serial No. 863,622, in which the fuel,after being transferred from the tender, is elevated throu h thelocomotive cab by means of screw conveyers in order that it may bedischarged into the fire-box, power being applied to the transferringand conveying devices b means of pawl and ratchet mechanism. attersomewhat analogous to that claimed herein is disclosed in my formerapplication Serial No. 48,619, filed Sept. 2, 1915, and in a divisionthereof Serial No. 149,564, filed Feby. 19, 1917.

The present improvements relate to various details, including the meansfor controlling the ratchet and pawl mechanism, the conduit within whichthe elevating screw is housed, the mounting of the screw within theconduit, and the screw itself, as hereinafter particularly described.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a detail elevation of thestoker as attached to the back head of the fire-box of the locomotive,some parts being removed;

Fig. 2 is a detail longitudinal section of the lower portion of theelevating conduit and screw;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the upper portion of the elevator;

Figs. 4: and 5 are sectional views taken, respectively, on the lines 4-4and 5--5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an inverted plan view of the reverse controlling plate.

Fig. 7 is a detail section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a detail section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional detail at the base of the elevatingsection of the stoker, the view being taken on. the line 99 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 10 is a sectional detail on the line 10-1O of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 11 is a detail of'the fuel stirring device at the upper end of theelevating screws.

Theback head of the fire-box of a locomotive is shown at 15, the usualhand firing door opening being indicated at 16. A suitably configuredbox-like casting 17 is located below the deck of the locomotive cab, andis provided with a rearwardly facing aperture 18 to which the transferconduit (not shown), leading forwardly from the tender, delivers andthrough which rise the elevating conduits, here shown as two in numberand designated, respectively, as 19, 20. While the invention is shown inconnection with a stoker having a lurality of elevating conduits, theseveral eatures are equally applicable to a stoker having but a singleconduit.

Within each of the elevating conduits, as 19, there is housed a conveyinscrew 21, the lower end of which extends into the chamber of the casting17, the walls of this casting forming a continuation of the conduit,such extension, however, being open,

' as indicated at 22, to permit the delivery of fuel through the opening18 to the screw. The shaft 23 of the screw 21 is tubular and is looselysleeved upon a drive shaft 24:, the upper end of which extends beyondthe end of the conduit and the lower end of which extends through andbeyond the castin 1? and is journaled in a bracket 25 depending from thecasting 17.

A reciprocating engine 26, suitably mounted on the locomotive below thecab deck, is provided for driving the stoker. The piston rod 27 of thismotor is attached to a rack bar having a set of gear teeth 28, whichcooperates with a pinion 29 keyed upon the lower end of the shaft 24.This rack-bar is also provided with a second set of teeth cooperatingwith a pinion 30 fixed upon a shaft 31, for driving a conveyer (notshown) for transferring fuel to the chamber of the casting 17.

The shafts 23 and 24: are both supported upon an instanding flange 32 atthe upper end of the conduit 19, in the following mannerz-A chamberedhead 33 rests and turns upon the flange 32, a wear plate 3 1 beinginterposed between these two parts. The bottom of the head 33 isprovided with a depending annular flange 35, which fits tightly upon theupper end of the shaft 23,

A. ratchet wheel 37, having a drive fit upon the shaft 24, rests andturns upon the bottom of the head 33, an annular wear plate 38 beinginterposed between these two parts. The wheel 37 is locked to the shaft24 also by means of a ring 39 fitted within a circumferential groove inthe shaft and overlapping the upper face of the wheel. A. bushing 40,fitted within the upper end of the'shaft 23, forms a lateral bearing forthe shaft 24.

Within the head 33 there are pivoted two pairs of spring-advanced pawls41, 42, which cooperate with the ratchet wheel 37 as many of such pairsof pawls being employed as may be desired. The springs may be applied tothese pawls in any suitable manner, as shown each pair is provided witha helical spring 43 connecting the two pawls and urging both toward theteeth of the wheel. The shaft 24 is rotated in opposite directions oroscillated by the out and in strokes, respectively, of the motor istonand the rack-bar attached thereto. he pawls of each pair arealternatively engaged with the ratchet wheel, and consequently the head33, and with it the screw 21, are turned intermittently for eitherraising or depressing the fuel within the conduit. If both pawls aredisengaged from the ratchet wheel there is, of course, no movement ofthe screw.

The pawls of each pair are manually con trolled by means of a flange orplate 44, ex-

tending between them and depending from a plate 45 rotatably mounted ontop of the.

head 33, and having an upstanding annular flange 46, loosely sleevedupon the projecting end 47 of the shaft 24,an annular grip member 48being mounted upon this flange. Each of the plates 44 is provided withan oblique slot 49, into which projects a pin 50 extending inwardly fromthe side wall of the head 33. As the plate 45 is raised and lowered itis partially turned by the cammin action of the studs 50 upon the wallsof t e slots 49. By reason of this turning movement of the plate 45 theplates 44 force one or the other of the pawls of each pair out ofengagement with the ratchet wheel, a partial raising of the late holdingboth pawls out of service. hen the plate 45 occupies its lowestposition, as in Fig. 8, the pawls 41 are in serviceand the screw 21 isgurped in the direction for elevating the When it is desired to stop theaction of the screw the plate 45 is partially raised and may be held inthat position by a s ringadvanced stud 51 carr ed by it and a aptednevaeee to enter an annular channel 52 inthe shaft 24. The end of thestud 51 is rounded, and the channel 52 is transversely concave in orderthat pressure in either direction upon the grip member 48 will disengagethe stud from the channel. Inasmuch as it is rarely necessary to reversethe direction of the elevating screw except momentarily, it is notessential to provide a second channel for cooperating with the stud 51to hold the plate 45 in its fully elevated position. The head 33 isprovided with a cover plate 53 upon which the plate 45 rides, and whichis secured to the head by means of bolts, as 54.

Each of the elevating conduits, as 19, 20, discharges laterally througha delivery nozzle, as '55, which enters the fire-box through a suitableaperture in the back head 15.

To prevent the fuel from packing in the upper end of the conduit, and tofacilitate its delivery therefrom, the upper end of the screw, as 21.,is provided with a plurality of stirrers taking the form of fingers 01'plates, and preferably with an inverted conical shield which deflectsthefuel laterally and guards the bearing of the flan e 35 of the head 33from dust and dirt. his shield is shown at 56 and may be simply a collarfitted u on the upper end of the screw shaft 23. Tile stirrers are shownin the form'of plates 57 depending from the in- As shown, theclined faceof the shield. shield is formed of two semi-circular elements, eachhaving a depending plate, as 57, at each end, the plates of the twosections being bolted together, as indicated at 58, for rigidlyattaching the device to the screw shaft.

It is found in practice that extraneous matter, such as bits of iron,frequently spikes, intermixed with the fuel clogs the screw elevator bylodging between its rim and the wall of the conduit. Such a foreignsubstance is apt to be carried up by the lower turns of the screw,following the side margin of the aperture 22, until it meets the uppermargin thereof, when, if of substantial size, it will either stop thescrew or break the conduit. Itbecomes necessary to 'remove such articlesby gaining access to the interior of the conduit, and for this purposeit is desirable to provide an easily removable closure for a lateralaperture in the conduit, and it is also important that the obstructionbe caught in the vicinity of this aperture. I

These objects are accomplished'by providing the conduit 19 with alongitudinal aperture 59, so locatedas to be convenient of access. Asshown in the drawings, it is at the side of the conduit which is remotefrom the back'head 15 of the fire-box. This aperture. preferably extendsfrom the juncture of the conduit with the casting 17 to a point opposite the discharge opening from which the fuel is delivered to thefire-box. A cover plate 60 is provided for this aperture, and whilebeing suitably attached-the element of strength being considered-iseasily removable. As shown it is held at its upper end by a screW-boltsetting through a lug 61, and is secured at its lower end by clips, as62. 62. The plate 60 is also preferably provided with a sight aperture63 at its supper end. which may be conveniently closed become intermixedwith the fuel in such manner as to cause no further trouble. If. howeverthe piece clings to. the screw flange :it is caught by the farther sidewall of the aperture 51, which takes the form of a shoulder 65, and mayfollow this shoulder to its upper end without materially impeding theaction of the Stoker. Arriving at the upper end of the aperture 59 itmay be of sufficient. resistance to stop the engine. The sight aperture63 may be utilized for discovering the cause of the trouble and itsremoval. or the plate 60 may be quickly disconnected to accomplish thispurpose. Any extraneous matter which may work in between the screwflange and the conduit above the lower end of the latter will also becaught by the shoulder 65 in a similar manner.

Under certain conditions of the fuel it is found in practice that thefrictional resistance between the fuel and the vane-of the screw exceedsthe friction developed between the ascending mass of fuel and theconduit wall, with the result that the entire mass revolves with thescrew withoutbeing advanced. This is particularly true when the fuel iscomparatively fine and contains an excessive amount of moisture. Thesl'ioulder 65 overcomes this difiiculty, as the fuel will enter thechannel provided by offsetting outwardly the cover plate 60, and theshoulder has the effect of augmenting the surface resistance. therebyrelatively increasing it beyond that of the frictional resistance uponthe screw flange.

In the construction shown in Figs. 9 and l0, there is illustratedmechanism for intermittently and reversibly driving the shaft of atransferring conveyer (not shown) for supplying fuel to the elevatingconduits. This mechanism, while substantially the same as thatillustrated in Figs. 4. 5, 6 and 8, is somewhat differently organized.The

rack-bar attached to the piston rod 27, in addition to the set of teeth28, is provided with a second-series of gear teeth 66, which cooperatewith the pinion 30 mounted upon the short horizontal shaft 31, journaledin a suitable box 67 mounted on the frame of the locomotive and providedat its farther end with a ratchet wheel 68. A casing 69 incloses theratchet wheel and is provided with an annular flange 70, journaled uponthe shaft 31, a suitable bushing 71 being interposed between theseparts. To the outer end of the casing 69 there is bolted a cover plate7:2, preferably provided with a central stem 73 journaled in an aperturein the end of the shaft 31. and having upon its outer face a portion 74of the shaft to be driven. here shown as one element of a universaljoint.

Spring pawls mounted within the casing 69 cooperate with the ratchetwheel 68. These pawls, as T5. 76, are arranged in pairs, three pairsbeing shown. The pawls of each pair are so mounted as to drive theratchet wheel in reverse directions. The spring for urging them towardthe wheel may be mounted in any suitable manner. For this purpose thereis shown a. helical spring 77, reacting between them. Associated witheach pair of pawls is a lifting plate 78, having an oblique slot 79, asin the case of the plates 44. into which projects a pin set ting throughthe side wall of the casing 69. The several pawl lifting plates. as 78,extend through apertures in the radial wall of the casing 69. and areformed integral with a collar 81 sleeved and slidable upon the flangeT0. The collar 81 is annularly channeled. as shown at 82, to receivestuds 83 formed on the yoke arms 8% of a shipper lever 85 which may beconveniently positioned for hand control. any suitable means (not shown)being provided for holding the lever in any of its adjusted positions.

In the position of the parts as shown in the drawings. the pawl 76 fordriving the ratchetwheel (38 in'the direction to advance the fuel is inservice; the pawl 75 being held out of engagement with the ratchet wheelby the plate 78. Outward movement of the plate 78 causes it to be cammedby the pin 80 in the direction to withdraw the pawl 76 and permit theadvance of the pawl 75. In the intermediate position of thepawl-controlling plate both pawls are out of service and the ratchetwheel remains at rest. Further withdrawal of the plate 78 permits thepawl 75 to engage the ratchet wheel and drive it in the reversedirection.

Normally all the fuel-advancing mechanism is operated in unison. Shouldthe fuel feed to the elevating conduits exceed their capacity. the shaftTet is stopped by partially withdrawing the plate 78. Should the fuelfeed through one of the elevating conduits be excessive, the conveyertherein may be stopped by disengaging its actuating means connecting thedrive shaft with the screw, the screw and drive shaft being suspendedfrom the upper end of the conduit.

2. Ina locomotive stoker, a fuel elevator comprising, in combination,awconduit, an elevating screw housed within the conduitand having ahollow shaft, a drive shaft inclosed within the screw shaft andsuspended from the upper end of the conduit, and connection between thedrive shaft and screw.

3. In a locomotive Stoker, a fuel elevator comprising, in combination, aconduit, having a bearing surface at its upper end, an elevating screwwithin the conduit and having a hollow shaft, a chambered head rotatablymounted on the upper end of the conduit and being fixed to the screwshaft, an oscillating drive shaft journaled within the screw shaft andprojecting beyond the upper end thereof, a ratchet wheel fixed upon theprojecting end of the drive shaft and supported upon the bottom of thehead, and pawls carried by the head and cooperating with the wheel.

4. In a locomotive stoker, a fuel elevator comprising, in combination, aconduit, an elevating screw within the conduit and having a hollowshaft, a rotatable head at the upper end of the conduit fixed to theconveyer shaft, an oscillating drive shaft within the screw shaft, aratchet wheelfixed upon the drive shaft and inclosed within the head,and a pair of spring-advanced oppositely facing pawls pivoted to thewall of the head and cooperating in alternation.

In a locomotive stoker, in combination, a fuel conveyer, an oscillatingdrive shaft, a ratchet wheel fixed to one of such named members, a pawlcarrier fixed to the other of such elements, a pair of oppositely facingspring-advanced pawls mounted on the carrier and cooperating inalternation with the ratchet wheel, a reciprocable plate mounted on thecarrier and being located between the pawls and engageable therewith andhaving a slot oblique to the direction of its movement, and a pin fixedin the carrier and projecting into the slot.

6. In a locomotive stoker, in combination, an elevating conduit, a screwconveyor laterally as it reciprocates.

nevraee housed within the conduit and having a hollow shaft, anoscillating drive shaft within the hollow shaft and projecting beyondthe same, a ratchet wheel fixed on the drive shaft, a pawl carrier fixedto the conveyer shaft, a pair of oppositely facing springadvanced pawlsmounted in the carrier and cooperating with the wheel, a cap sleeved onthe drive shaft and having a plate projecting between and engaging thepawls and provided with an oblique slot, and a pin fixed in the carrierand entering the slot.

7. In a locomotive Stoker, in combination, a screw conveyer foradvancing fuel, an oscillating shaft for driving the screw, a ratchetwheel on one of said members, a pair of oppositely facing spring pawlsassociated with the other of said members and cooperating in alternationwith the ratchet wheel, a plate interposed between and engageable withthe pawls and being reciprocable transverse to the plane of theirmovement, and means for camming the plate 8. In a locomotive stoker, incombination, a screw conveyer for advancing fuel, an os-. cillatingshaft for driving the screw, a ratchet wheel on one of said members, apair of oppositely facing spring pawls asso ciated with the other ofsaid members and cooperating inalternation with the ratchet wheel, aplate interposed between and engage-able with the pawls, a collarsleeved upon the drive shaft and carrying the plate, and cam means formoving the plate laterallv as it is advanced and withdrawn by thesliding of the collar on the shaft.

9. In a locomotive stoker, in combination, a screw conveyer foradvancing fuel, an os- (-illating shaft for driving the screw, a ratchetwheel on one of said members, a pair of oppositely facing spring pawlsassociated with the other of said members and cooperating in alternationwith the ratchet wheel, a plate interposed between and engageable withthe pawls and having an oblique slot, a collar sleeved upon the driveshaft and carrying the plate, and a rela' tively fixed pin projectinginto the slot.

10. In a locomotive stoker, in combination, an elevating screw, aconduit inclosing the screw and having a lateral opening, and a coverplate for the opening, the inner face of the plate being offsetoutwardly beyond the inner surface of the conduit wall whereby ashoulder is provided for arresting extraneous substances entered betweenthe rim of the screw and the conduit wall.

11. In a locomotive stoker, in combination, an elevating screw, aconduit inclosing the screw and having a lateral opening exeraeea tion,a chambered body, a conduit rising from and open to the chamber of thebody, the conduit having a longitudinal opening in its wall and the bodyhaving an internal shoulder in line with one margin of the opening, anelevating screw in the conduit and extending into the chamber of thebody, and a cover plate for the longitudinal opening of the conduit andoffset outwardly from the inner surface of the conduit.

13. In a locomotive stoker, in combination, a fuel elevating screw, alaterally openable conduit inclosing the screw, and means for arrest-ingextraneous substances entered between the rim of the screw and theconduit Wall adjacent the lateral opening of the conduit.

14:. In a locomotive stoker, in combination, a fuel elevating screw, aconduit inclosing the screw and having a longitudinal shoulder along itsinner surface, a lateral opening adj aoent such shoulder, and a coverplate for the opening.

15. In a locomotive stoker, in combination, a drive shaft, a ratchetWheel secured to said Slllft, a pawl carrier surrounding said shaft, apair of oppositely facing spring-advanced pawls mounted on the carrierand operating in alternation with the ratchet Wheel, a reciprocableplate mounted on the carrier and having a slot oblique to the directionof its movement, a pin fixed in the carrier and projecting into theslot, and means secured to the carrier to drive a conveyer screw.

NATHAN M. LOWER.

